Flytrap



May 11 ,1926. r 1,584,529

0. T. GREGORY FLYTRAP Filed Sept. 22, 1924 I o'fiventor flaw zfl W aw a WW4 m Patented May 11, 1 926.

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OSCAR T. GREGORY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB OF ONE-HALF TO T. H. CURD, OF PADUCAH, KENTUCKY.

FLYTRAP.

Application filed. September 22, 1924. Serial No. 739,099.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved form of fly trap adapted to be readily attached to the usual window or door screen for trapping insects which crawl up the screen; to provide improved means for detachably connecting the trap to the screen so as to permitit to be readily moved from one window or door to another, and to provide an improved form and arrangement of means for supporting a sheet of adhesive fly paper on a window or other surface for trapping insects.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a. window screen and sash, showing the improved trap attached to the screen.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and showing .also part of the upper window sash.

Figure 3 is a plan of one of the wall plates.

Figure 4 is a detail showing the means for detachably securing the trap to the screen, the normal operative position of the trap being shown in dotted outline.

Figure 5 is a detail of the trap, showing the prongs which secure the wall plates to the back of the trap.

As illustrated, the improve-d fly trap is in the form of a frame or housing adapted to be sup-ported on any substantially flat surface, and having means for supporting a sheet of adhesive paper in spaced relation to such surface. In the specific construction herein shown, the trap is particularly adapted for attachment to a screen, such as used in windows and doors, and is provided with an opening at its lower edge for the ingress of flies and other insects crawling on the screen.

In the form shown, the improved trap comprises a frame or housing made up of a plurality of substantially rectangular wall plates 1, arranged edgewise in substantially parallel spaced relation, and a back 2 secured thereto for supporting one or more sheets of adhesive paper 3 in spaced relation to a door or window screen at.

The wall plates 1 may be sheet metal stampings having hooks 5 formed at the upper ends thereof, which are adapted to project through the screen 4 or other support for suspending the trap with the inner edges 6 of the wall plates lying against the screen. The lower edges of the plates 1 may be slightly wider than the upper edges thereof, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to produce a slight taper in the housing and thus lower the center of gravity thereof. Formed along the outer three edges of the plates 1 are prongs 7, which project through the back 2 and which are alternately bent in opposite directions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, for fastening the back to the wall plates. The prongs on the up aer and lower ends of the plates 1 are slightly inclined for ardly, as shown in F 3, to facilitate the attachment of the back. i

The back 2 may be of any suitable material, but in the form shown it comprises a metal wire mesh screen, similar to the win dow screen l, which is inexpensive and may be readily attached to the plates 1. The upper lateral edge 8 of the back 2 extends to substantially the plane of the edges 6 of the wall plates 1 so as to lie against the screen 4. The lower lateral edge 9 of the back 2 is spaced from the screen 4 so as to leave an opening 10, providing an ingress for the flies. The extremities of the lateral edges 8 and 9 are bent inwardly to form flanges l1 and 12 respectively, which hold the sheets of adhesive paper 3 in the position shown in Fig. 2. The used sheets may be readily removed to permit the insertion of new sheets by means of a fork or other suitable pointed instrument. The depth of the trap from front to back is preferably less than the thickness of the screen frame bars 13, so that the upper sash 1d of the window may be raised and lowered without interference with the trap.

In operation, the trap is secured to the screen near the upper edge thereof by inserting the hooks 5 through the meshes of the screen while the trap is held in a substantially horizontal position, as shown in full outline in Fig. 4. The trap is then permitted to swing downwardly to an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to lie against. the screen. As is well known, flies crawling on an upright surface such as window, usually crawl toward the upper edge and then fly back from such surface. They seldom crawl downwardly.- With this improved trap it is assumed that the flies will crawl upwardly on the screen and enter the trap through the opening at the lower edge thereof. \Yhen the fly attempts to fly away from the screen after entering the trap, it will be caught. by the adhesive paper.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A fly trap comprising a pair of end plates arranged edgewise in substantially parallel spaced, relation with two edges thereof lying in substantially the same plane so as to be adapted to lie against a supporting surface, a back embracing the other edges of said plates, prongs arranged on said other edges, said prongs projecting through said back and being bent to engage the outer face thereof for securing said back to said plates, one of the lateral edges of said back extending to substantially the plane of said two edges, the opposite lateral edge thereof being spaced from said plate to permit the ingress of insects, and a sheet of adhesive paper extending across the inner face of said back.

2. A fly trap comprising a pair of end plates arranged edgewise in substantially parallel spaced relation with two edges thereof lying in substantially the same plane so as to be adapted to lie against a supporting surface, a back embracing the other edges of said plates, prongs arranged on said other edges, said prongs projecting through said back and being alternately bent in opposite directions to engage the outer face of said back, one of the lateral edges of said back xtending to substantially the plane of said two edges, the opposite lateral edge thereof being spaced from said plane to permit the ingress of insects, and a sheet of adhesive paper extending across the inner face of said back and retained between said lateral edges.

Signed at Chicago this 17th day of September, 192i.

OSCAR T. GREGORY. 

